The second suit filed in the SC challenges the governor’s delay in inviting Vijay to form the government
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday (May 9, 2026) to declare Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s May 7 press statement denying Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C. Joseph Vijay’s demand to form the government as unconstitutional and arbitrary.
The petition, filed by former IPS officer M. Ramasubramani through advocate G. Siva Bala Murugan, said the governor’s refusal to invite Mr. Vijay as the chief of the single largest party that emerged after the 2026 assembly elections was a hostile move against parliamentary democracy.
It said the Governor’s insistence that Mr. Vijay demonstrate the “necessary majority support” necessary to form the government was against settled constitutional conventions governing government formation in a hung assembly.
The petition states that the press release effectively eliminated the constitutional process without allowing the single largest political party to win a majority on the floor of the legislature.
“It is well settled that in a parliamentary democracy governed by the Constitution, the question of whether a political party or a coalition gets majority support can be decided only on the floor of the House and not through subjective satisfaction, private consultations or roving inquiry conducted in the Lok Bhavan,” Mr. Ramasubramani said.
A governor cannot terminate the constitutional process without a basic test if there is a viable claim to a majority.
An earlier petition by Ezhilarasi P., who said she was a member of the TVK party, had alleged that the Governor was “obliged” to invite Mr. Vijay as the leader of the single largest party to form the government in the state and later prove majority on the floor of the House. — Krishnadas Rajagopal
